Students connect with industry at job fair

The lower floor of the Campus Center was filled with a couple hundred students and about 30 company representatives last Wednesday, October 8.

At the fair, students were able to talk to companies about internships and jobs, as well as get help with resumes and building professional social media connections through using LinkedIn.

Dordt College encourages students to think about their future before senior year, when graduation is just around the corner. Sarah Moss, the Career Center coordinator, stresses the importance of internships throughout the college experience.

These companies want to help students build that important experiential learning that is so necessary for future employees today.

Most of the employers involved were in the business, health or farming fields, but there was some variety—companies included in this event were hospitals, banks, restaurants, and photographers.

Employers gave away promotional items with their company name printed on it, in hopes that students would gain an interest in their business. Many of them did, and the typical workplace buzzwords started flying around the tables set up there.

“Resume,” “job experience,” and “internship,” were just a few of the words that could be heard all over the room as students discussed their futures with possible employers.

The Dordt College employees from the Career Center hoped to encourage students through this job fair. And in many ways, they succeeded. One of the pamphlets handed out at this job fair featured statistics about college graduate employment; specifically from Dordt College.

97.6% of Dordt graduates from last year were either employed or in graduate school within six months of graduation. The Career Center also mentioned the national average: only 63% of students were employed within six months of their college graduation.

Dordt achieves this statistic through encouraging students to think about careers using opportunities like this job fair.

The Career Center handed out a brief synopsis on how to prepare for a career while in college. Throughout the four years spent at college, there are things students can do to grow their employability for the future.

Freshman year is all about exploring interests and possible career paths. The Career Center suggests getting involved on campus and identifying interests. Making a four-year plan can also be helpful when determining what to study.

Sophomore year, students should narrow down their interests. Then it is time to start researching internships, and eventually apply for one. The Career Center offers tools online to help build a resume and cover letter for this purpose.

Junior year becomes a time to focus career direction and gain experience. This is the year where students should interact with different workplace settings to narrow down their future job choice. This is when internships become incredibly useful.

During the last year of college, it’s time to use all the knowledge acquired in internships to prepare for graduate school or a career.

The job fair helped students experience some of these important career steps. Students looking to do the same should visit the Career Center in the Campus Center or go online to the Virtual Career Center to start planning out a career map today.